Every philosophy is a politics embedded in its historical context

Evidence

Philosophers are both effects and causes: effects of their social circumstances and of the politics and institutions of their time; causes (if they are fortunate) of beliefs which mould the politics and institutions of later ages. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 32 (#expands, via linked claim)

We may say, in a broad way, that Greek philosophy down to Aristotle expresses the mentality appropriate to the City State; that Stoicism is appropriate to a cosmopolitan despotism; that scholastic philosophy is an intellectual expression of the Church as an organization; that philosophy since Descartes, or at any rate since Locke, tends to embody the prejudices of the commercial middle class; and that Marxism and Fascism are philosophies appropriate to the modern industrial State. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2847 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Philosophers both reflect their historical milieu and shape future institutions — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 32; Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2847; A historical epoch’s philosophy is the ensemble of all its tendencies, not one system (+6 more)

Related

• A historical epoch’s philosophy is the ensemble of all its tendencies, not one system (similarity 0.91)
• An era’s philosophy is a synthesis of popular and elite worldviews (similarity 0.89)
• Philosophers both reflect their historical milieu and shape future institutions (similarity 0.89)
• Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure (similarity 0.87)
• Philosophers have historically served to justify established authority (similarity 0.84)
• Separating philosophy from history and politics reduces it to metaphysics (similarity 0.82)
• Each era produces its own distinct capitalist class (similarity 0.82)
• All philosophical thought, however abstract, is constituted from historical material (similarity 0.81)
• I am inclined to believe that the framers were an authentically American, uniquely American, and uniquely lawyerly generation of thinkers who have as much in common with twentieth-century… (similarity 0.80)
• A philosophy’s historical worth is its practical effect on society (similarity 0.79)
• The philosopher shapes the Absolute while the Absolute shapes the philosopher (similarity 0.79)
• Philosophy’s history must include mass worldviews and ruling groups, not just philosophers (similarity 0.79)
• A philosophy’s historical impact is measured by its sediment in common sense. (similarity 0.79)
• An epoch’s philosophy is a combination, not any single thinker’s system (similarity 0.79)
• Hellenistic political impotence shifted philosophical focus from metaphysics to individual ethics (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Philosophers both reflect their historical milieu and shape future institutions #expands (0.85) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 32
• Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure #exemplifies (0.80) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2847
• A historical epoch’s philosophy is the ensemble of all its tendencies, not one system #qualifies (0.75)